The Crane Company Factory Building (Originally Northwestern Manufacturing Company) is a unique building in the context of Chicago. Built in 1865, it is one of the few remaining pre-Chicago Fire industrial buildings that still exists today. While some of the character of the original building remained, previous renovation work had altered significant elements and compromised the structural integrity of the building. The new owners of the building wanted to preserve the existing building’s historic character and provide a high-end corporate interior reflecting their private investment business strategy. They liked the fact that the building and location was not what is typically found in the corporate towers of the central business district and would lend itself to an industrial chic aesthetic, balancing raw, industrial elements with refined materials and sumptuous furnishings.
Renovating a historic pre-fire industrial building for corporate use had plenty of challenges. The grit and character appealed to the owners yet required the use of a tight palette of materials to achieve their goal. The interaction between the use of materials, like plate steel that penetrates multiple aspects of the design and utilizing the structure as a feature to be celebrated, not hidden, allow for a high-end corporate office space to be blended with the rough and tumble origins of a former steel pipe manufacturing facility.
